Nearly one year ago, Jackson County voters rejected a sales tax that would have helped fund a new ballpark for the Kansas City Royals and Arrowhead renovations for the Kansas City Chiefs.
Whether the two teams will stay in Jackson County, or even in Missouri, has been up in the air since. Then, last week, Kansas City-area politicians began a series of talks around the future of the teams.
Jackson County legislator Sean Smith was one of two county lawmakers to meet with Gov. Mike Kehoe for closed-door discussions over the matter.
He told KCUR's Up To Date that fixing property tax issues is key to keeping the Chiefs and the Royals local.
"For us to have funding sources and straighten out the property tax debacles and preserve the legacy represented in our stadium, these would all be great things," Smith said. "And I think that would be something that maybe the voters would feel differently about than what they were proposed with in April."
- Sean Smith, Jackson County 6th District Legislator
